Weinerville (partially found Nickelodeon TV series; 1993-1997)

UPDATE 02 Apr '15: Nickelodeon has aired 4 previously missing episodes as part of The '90s Are All That! This also marks the first time the series has aired since 1997.

Weinerville is a variety series/puppet show that originally aired on Nickelodeon from July 11, 1993 to February 17, 1996. It was filmed at Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, FL and was created by Marc Weiner.

Despite receiving numerous award nominations, drawing the attention of Entertainment Tonight and Good Morning America, and receiving acclaim from multiple news sources, the series ended after just 2 seasons. Due to the decrease in popularity and copyright issues with the cartoons that would air alongside the sketches, Nickelodeon has only aired 4 episodes since 1997, thus making episodes very hard to come by.

Contents

Overview

"Playland" during Season 1.

The series is based around the fictional town Weinerville. There are many recurring characters, including Dottie, Zip, Boney, Socko, Louie, Pops and many others. It was hosted and the majority of the characters were performed by Marc Weiner [with the exception of Zip and Louie, who were voiced by writer Scott Fellows, and Pops, who was voiced by head writer Ray Abruzzo].

The show is notable for its unique style of puppetry, where you would would place your head into a hole above a miniature puppet body. There was also a Double Dare styled segment called "Playland" where audience members would be Weinerized (Become puppets) and compete in games. The losing contestant would get the Silver Hot Dog and the winner would be given the Golden Hot Dog, as well as get slimed.

Much of the episodes' running time was taken up by classic cartoons such as Mr. Magoo, Popeye the Sailor, Betty Boop, and The Alvin Show. Marc Weiner said in an interview that had there been a Season 3, there would have been no cartoons.[1]

The show is also known for having many running gags and sketches. The number 1350 was used many times, but it was most commonly used as the price for every item in "The Weinerville General Store". Another sketch/character is Captain Bob, a sea captain who constantly makes jokes. He first appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1981. There is also a sketch called "That's Not Fair!", where a child and an adult would try to win points by answering questions. This was pitched to Comedy Central on it's own in 1991, but after testing, they said it was good for kids and it was greenlit by Nickelodeon as Weinerville instead.

Lost Episode Guide

Still of Weinerville's set.

Of Weinerville's 62 episode run, 30 episodes have yet to be unearthed.

*Please note that the only episodes listed are the ones that have been lost or found since this article's creation.

Availability

"Election Special: From Washington B.C." title card.

Weinerville, like many of Nickelodeon's early programs, has rarely aired since its creation. It last aired reruns in 1997, making episodes extremely scarce. For 3 years, it only aired on Sundays in 2 hour marathons and on weekdays during 3:00PM or 3:30PM. Near 1997, it only aired at 7:00AM until it vanished entirely.

In 2008, 24 episodes appeared on a private torrent tracker and were eventually uploaded to YouTube alongside 2 other episodes (1x12 and 1x16). The Chanukah Special was originally uploaded to YouTube on 4/19/12 and Lost in the Big Apple appeared on YouTube on 5/8/12. The Election Special was available online for a short time, but it appears no one downloaded a copy as it hasn't been available since MegaUpload was taken down in 2011.

The '90s Are All That was supposed to air it in 2011, as it was seen in many promos, however it wasn't aired until April 2, 2015, when four season 2 episodes made their premiere on the block. Two episodes also aired as part of the premiere week of The Splat (however, these episodes have been online for years).